vism was driven in a significant way by the reaction of natives to the new stream of immigrants. The attitudes of the native population seemed to clash with the needs of the immigrant class, and as a result, two completely different systems of political ethics emerged. The native system was based upon Protestant political traditions and the middle class lifestyle, and demanded the participation of individuals in public affairs while asserting that government should at least be an attempt to moralize the lives of its citizens. At the same time, the Protestant tradition argued that the nation's economic life should help to stimulate and develop individual character.
Thus, to some degree, the debates of the Progressive era were fueled by the two systems of belief: one supported by the moral leaders of Protestant social reform and the other by industrialists, politicians, and immigrant masses. With this in mind, it is easy to see that the Protestant tradition was the most persistent strain of Progressivism, as the movement carried religious and moral overtones that are difficult to ignore. This is clearly revealed in the fact that the Progressive Party's convention song in 1912 was "Onward, Christian Soldiers, and that Theodore Roosevelt's acceptance speech contained a challenge: "We stand at Armageddon and we battle for the Lord." The involvement of the Methodist Church in social debate should not, therefore, come as a surprise. In fact, at its 1908 General Conference, the Church adopted a Social Creed to demonstrate its commitment to social issues.
One major social issue facing the country during the period between 1890 and 1920 was that of race relations. The aftermath of the Civil War had forced white society to confront the reality of living among free black men, but the relations between races were filled with bitterness, hatred, and confusion. This was particularly true in the South, where blacks and ...